2nd
January Skating Away on the Thin Ice
of a New Day Jethro Tull
Two inches of snow greeted me outside as I
opened the door but undeterred, I set off for Middleton Lakes, skating away on
the thin ice of the new day. John had wanted to accompany me on his bike but
the snow and the ice prevented that. Photographs were taken at the doorway;
thanks were given and I was off. Not so great navigation had me going in the
wrong direction up the wrong street but kind words from a lady motorist put me
right and I was soon cruising downhill towards Middleton Hall and through the posh
entrance way into the RSPB reserve there. With Rook [43] added to the
list on the way and a Grey Heron [44] seen on arrival, I walked around
the immediate area near to the imposing hall and, on finding the tucked away
RSPB offices, I was soon joined by Gary Jones, the warden, who I am delighted
to say, spent a good two hours plus showing me around this new reserve. We were
soon talking away as though we had known each other for years. So much chat in
fact that the birdwatching seemed a little intrusive. A party of those fabulous
ball of fluff birds, Long-tailed Tits [45], avian lollipops, were
watched though. Oh, to one day see a stunning continental race bird with its
pure white head, an ambition bird.
“This field will be developed for families. A
sort of ‘do what you like’ area,” said Gary. Yet another RSPB warden met in two
days, with each one displaying the same passion for their chosen reserve. It
had been Chris at Sandwell Valley who thrilled about talking of future
developments there and now here was Gary delighting in each new habitat.
Now
here was habitat creation on a grand scale. Masses of reeds, Phragmites, thousands
of them and all hand-planted by hundreds of RSPB volunteers in one area. There
was also an area of wetland scrape. “Over there will be a broad walk,”
explained Gary pointing to beneath the trees that contained a large heronry,
each of the twenty or so nests with two holes in the bottom. An old joke I used
to tell my young YOC-ers (Young Ornithologist's Club, the now gone branch of
the RSPB for youngsters) which they, being gullible, believed were for the
heron’s long legs to hang through so that the sitting bird would not get cramp.
Back in 2004 I had cycled here from my place
of work at that time, a Special School named Castle School in Walsall, to what
was then called Drayton Bassett Gravel Pits in order to see an exceedingly rare
wader, a Broad-billed Sandpiper. It was not a lifer for me. I had seen one at
Coton, just a few miles to the south years before. Now the area of working
gravel pits had gone, to be replaced by what will be a fabulous, diverse range
of habitats over an expansive area, once the habitat creation projects have matured.
The thought of having such a reserve so close to my beloved Midlands was
exciting.
Together we walked, Gary and I, birding a bit
and chatting. There were clear views towards Tamworth, with the vertical drop
of the Apocalypse ride at Drayton Manor theme park poking above the trees. I
remembered going on that a few times in the past with my children, Rebecca and
Joshua and my stepdaughters Claire and Sarah!
As at Sandwell Valley the day before, birds
were restricted to small patches of ice-free water. Still there were good
numbers of Mallard, Pochard and Tufties together with a Great-crested Grebe [46] and a few Goldeneye [47]. Down to a pathway of sorts adjacent to the river
Thame where thirty-seven Gadwall had
found an area to their liking: the site for a future hide. Beside one large
pool Gary pointed out a few stubs of darkened wooden posts sticking up near the
water's edge. Here was evidence of a prehistoric fish pen which had been
excavated by a local archaeological group. Uncertain of how old it may be, Gary
said they thought it might be anything up to four thousand years old. What
birds would the builders of this have seen so long ago and which ones would
they have eaten? Back to the 12th Century Middleton Hall and into its
café to warm up and enjoy coffee and cake.
Other birds seen during the visit included Cormorant, Herring Gull, Linnet, Shelduck,
Grey Wagtail, Kingfisher, Reed Bunting, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch,
Fieldfare [48 to 57] and a male Kestrel.
(Remember this last bird when I talk about my final year list will you please?)
I cycled on, after saying goodbye to everyone
at Middleton RSPB Reserve, to a ‘sacred’ football ground nearby, Bodymoor Heath
the training ground for my team, Aston Villa. No players were there as I
stopped to ask the security guard to take a photo of me by the Villa sign. They
were all at Villa Park awaiting a match against Blackburn Rovers in the third
round of the waning FA Cup; a match incidentally that the Villa won 3 – 1. I
say waning as the FA cup is a pale reflection from what it was before the 'big'
teams decided to put out weakened teams when playing in it. A sad reflection of
how football has changed since the creation of a Premier League. How disgusting
for Manchester United to boycott the iconic tournament in 1999-2000.
The rest of the afternoon was spent cycling
to Warwick, the home of my Mum and Dad, Mary and Brian. I had a brief visit of
Kenilworth Castle as I was passing. I had already decided that during the year
I would visit as many special places as possible, whilst circumnavigating
clockwise the UK, as well as visiting the RSPB and WWT nature reserves. I would
try to visit as many castles, cathedrals, museums, prehistoric sites as I could
in the time allowed to me.
I arrived home at 4.00 p.m. much to Mum and
Dad’s amazement. I had not told them that I would be calling in. “You’ve only
just gone!” Said Dad. “I’ve given up,” I joked.
35.25
miles 751 feet elevation up 1054 feet down
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